Lake County, CA. Feb. 19 – It’s very unusual in a manslaughter case for a victim’s family to speak out for the defendant. But that’s what’s happening in the fatal boat crash case in Clear Lake…

Lynn Thornton died after a horrible boat crash in April of 2006. She and her friends were wrapping up a sunset cruise — it was a still night with little wind — when a power boat roared out of the darkness, launching over the sailboat, snapping the mast and crushing the cabin.

The person driving the power boat was the No. 2 man in the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, Russell Perdock.

"Mr. Perdock just slammed into ‘em, he wasn’t paying attention and it resulted in the death of my sister," said Thomsen.

However, prosecutors ignored the speed of Perdock’s boat. He admitted going as fast as 45 miles an hour, and an independent investigation found that Perdock had broken the law by failing to maintain a safe speed.

They charged Thornton’s friend, who happened to be steering the sailboat at the time of the crash. He had been drinking, and prosecutors claimed the boat’s running lights were off…

In all, the (TV News) I-Team identified nine people — on the sailboat or on shore — who say the sailboat’s running lights, cabin lights, or both, were on.

Still, the man steering the sailboat at the time, Bismarck Dinius, faces felony charges of manslaughter and boating under the influence…

From the beginning, Perdock, the owner of the power boat, has refused to answer our questions and he declined to be interviewed for this report.

Now, the victim’s family members are letting their opinions be known.

"Russell Perdock got away with murder," said Thomsen.

Thornton’s brothers and sister-in-law have sent letters to the judge in the case, saying, "We are convinced beyond any doubt that Russell Perdock, and only Russell Perdock, is responsible for Lynn’s death…She would not have wanted the wrong person to be prosecuted…It’s obvious Perdock’s ridiculous speed was the cause of Lynn’s death."

(Thanks to David Baker)

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David W

This is astounding. Two brothers and a sister-in-law saying that this is wrong to the Judge and the prosecution is still going to try to put this man in jail? The letters say more than any court proceeding could ever accomplish. The man is guilty of consuming alcohol and sitting next to the tiller of a sailboat sitting dead in the water.

Unbelievable. Whats next in our Justice system bag of tricks? Where’s MADD for that matter to comfort the family? Hypocrites! More than likely the family would have nothing to do with them and MADD’s silence in the matter speaks for the injustice as well. They won’t touch it because they know its wrong. If they did, they would have to acknowledge some responsibility that has the man being charged in the first place as they pushed for the laws this man is being charged under…….. A blind man could see this travesty…This is what one can definitely call “a victim of MADD”. No and. if, buts, about it…

RichardAlan

Again another “Malfeasant” Public Servant getting away with a crime. It’s obvious here that the so called “Prosecutors” in the “Pretend” state they represent are using “Legal Fiction” or “Fantasy Make Believe” to protect the crimes of this “Public Servant” who obviously is the cause of the “accident” resulting in a “Death” this one won’t fly put me on that jury….

In the above entire story it’s not ever mentioned that officer Russell Perdock was drinking, drunk, or arrested for drunk boating??.

So who is claiming officer Russell Perdock was drunk? what did he blow? How do we know he was drunk simply based on the title of the story? Where is this evidence and why is it not mentioned in the body of this story?

David W

You have to look deeper into the earlier articles on the drinking thing Richard. The deputy supposably was seen at some waterside grill drinking earlier in one report. Then there’s another interview with a bartender about previous encounters along with descriptions from the guy’s ex who described occassions she was scared riding with him after going to these establishments because of his habit of excess speed at night. He admits to having “part of a beer” earlier in the day. His blood test is under scrutiny as it appears he wasn’t tested until 24 hrs later. They are claiming the technician mismarked the collection time. Problem with that is the corrected time on the sample. He was still at the accident scene per witnesses, one being a lady who was on the sailboat. She remembers exactly when she and her husband finally got to leave the scene. Like 20 minutes after the blood was supposably was drawn. So either way, something is screwed up here. The defendants attorney is submitting a motion for a DNA sample from the deputy sheriff to compare with the original sample to see if it is in fact his. This whole thing is a mess. People who say they saw the lights on were ignored when offering statements to that effect at the beginning. One was the marina owner who saw the sailboat pulling out for the cruise, and another was a retired police officer who was in charge of security in the area who says he saw the sailboat and the powerboat bear down on it. One marine expert examined the filiments of the lights and concluded that they had to be on based on their condition in the bulbs. They snapped while hot which they can tell by forensic examination. That was countered by someone else that claim his investigation showed otherwise, but investigator one was an independent, and number two had connections with the local leo depts. Everyone apparently agrees that the cabin lights were on. In that case the sail would have been lit up like a christmas tree. That makes a sailboat far more illuminated than if just runnings lights were on. I know that from my own experiences on the water. Both as a passenger on a similar sized sailboat and as a past owner of a similar boat that the deputy had. Even on the darkest evenings, I could spot a sailboat easily if they had cabin lights on. Especially if it was moonless like that night as it makes the white sail stand out even more. If the wind is blowing, it makes it more difficult to see them ,,but this particular evening was calm with no wind..

The whole thing is fishy. It has been from day one.

RichardAlan

Thanks David, that is just what I needed to know –The title of the story is accurate.
To “complicated” for MADD and their agenda is correct too. Fantasy make believe by the police and prosecutors is correct as well…

David W

My best guess is he was traveling as fast as the retired LEO said (50+). Had wind watering his eye’s, glancing up from time to time not looking short distance, but at the shoreline lights he was using as a reference of his course or direction. Then slap ran them over. I draw this statement from experience. There are also statements somewhere in there of a couple on shore sitting on their patio. They didn’t see the boats, but did hear the RPM’s. Extremely high was what they said. Then the sound of the crash. I said it before. That boat could not have ramped over that sailboat at 30 mph. Impossible. It would have been sitting on top of it if anything. Maybe need to get mythbusters to re-enact the senerio. Computers these days could probably pin the required speed down if loaded with the parameters of both boats..That would end the speculation.

Nelson Donnell

I just wish that the contents of this particular article had proof positive that the cop was in excess of the allowable BA level at the time of the accident in order to appropriately justify the use of the words “Drunk Cop Kills Woman”.

Having to ferret through other news stories kind of leaves the whole sobriety of the cop issue clouded in suspicion.

David W

If proper procedure had been followed right from the get go, we would have that answer. He claims a half a beer, but witnesses to other occassions find that hard to believe based on their past observances. You don’t have to search too much. Just pick up the original report and track the next few through. There is no mystery about the sailboat owner and his friends test. There is mystery surrounding the deputy’s test